


Winter Chill

by Acemindbreaker



Category: Dungeons & Dragons (Roleplaying Game)
Genre: Bullying, Elves, Fae & Fairies, Fantastic Racism, Gen, Partial Mind Control, Supernatural Fear Inducer, Unseelie Court, Whump
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-09-23
Updated: 2018-09-23
Packaged: 2019-07-15 22:54:08
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,008
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16073060
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Acemindbreaker/pseuds/Acemindbreaker
Summary: A short about my unseelie fae character discovering his Winter's Chill ability while being bullied.I wrote this for the Bad Things Happen Bingo - Supernatural Fear Inducer.





	Winter Chill

Kelris Highbranch's adoptive parents didn't take long to realize that, despite his elven appearance, their child was considerably more fey than elf. His reaction when they tried to feed him his soup with an iron spoon made that much clear.  
Still, he was a child in need of care, so they cared for him. Lialee Highbranch, his mother, claimed he was her estranged cousin's grandchild, sent to her care because his mother was too young to raise an infant. It was just scandalous enough to be believed, but not to make him an outcast, as his true heritage would. Farris Highbranch, his father, taught him to hide his dislike for iron, making excuses where he could and tolerating its cold touch when no excuse would suffice.  
And it mostly worked, but even so, the other children sensed something off about Kelris, and preferred not to interact with him. Which is why, come market day when the elves visited the human town, Kelris wound up wandering the streets alone, not with the small gaggle of elven children who decided to disobey their parents and wander as a small pack exploring the town.  
And it was his solitude that made him a target for the three human children whose hatred of elves was only tempered by the fear of being outnumbered by them.

“Hey, pretty-boy! Are you a boy or a girl?” The one human shouted.  
Kelris ignored him, trailing his hand along a patch of weeds. He felt a pleasant tingle from the plants, something he'd never told anyone, not even his parents. He figured if it was a typical elf thing, they'd have mentioned it, which meant it must be fey, and they got tense whenever he reminded them he was fey. And besides, they'd just tell him not to tell anyone else, and he already knew that.  
“Hey, you fairy! We're talking to you!” Another human exclaimed.  
Kelris froze, momentarily afraid they'd figured out his true nature, before remembering that his parents had said the humans hated elves because they were descended from fey, and many humans couldn't be bothered to figure out that being descended from fey wasn't the same as being fey. He straightened and moved to examine a bush, trying to pretend he couldn't hear the humans.  
“Hey!” This voice was closer, and suddenly something struck Kelris—the third human had thrown a rock at him! It didn't hurt, though it probably would have if he wasn't fey, but it did make him angry.  
Kelris turned. “Prattling nuisances. You think yourselves worthy of wasting my time?” He said in a haughty tone.  
“You think you're tough?” The boy who'd thrown the rock said. “You're a delicate little twig! I could crush you under my boots!”  
“You're welcome to try.” Kelris replied.  
Now the other two were fanning out around him. “I think we should give the pretty little fairy the beating he's asking for.” The first boy said. “Show him and his fey kind we're not to be messed with!”  
The second boy launched a clumsy punch for Kelris' head. Kelris dodged. “You move like a bull.” He said. “There's no art to your blows.”  
The third boy threw another rock, which hit Kelris hard on the temple, but did no damage. “Was that supposed to hurt?” Kelris asked recklessly. It was dangerous, to flaunt how resilient he was, but he doubted any of the elves would believe a couple human thugs claiming he could ignore a rock to the head.  
And then the third boy punched his side, and it did hurt. Kelris yelped, backing against the bush as he spotted the ring on the boy's finger. Iron, from the feel of it. The pain reverberated from the base of his ribs, making it hard for him to breathe.  
“Hah! That hurt, didn't it?” The third boy gloated.  
“Hey, I think it's your ring.” The second boy said. “You made it from iron, right? My Da says that fey don't like iron.”  
The fear and pain Kelris was feeling crystallized into an icy chill, and he straightened. He looked at the boys like they were bugs on the sidewalk. “Leave, now, before I crush you.” He spat out the words contemptuously, feeling a strange power flooding through him.  
Kelris didn't know what they saw in his face, but their eyes widened, and they backed away. He stared at them for a few moments, and they broke and fled.  
As soon as they were gone, the power faded, and Kelris gasped, a hand going to his side where the iron ring had hit him.

At home, after their trip was finished, his father confronted him as soon as they got inside. “OK, son, what's that wound you've been trying to hide?”  
Ruefully, Kelris pulled up his shirt, showing the purpling bruise to his father.  
His father gingerly touched the darkest patch of the bruise, a little horizontal strip the same size and shape as the boy's ring. “To cause this much damage, that had to be iron or steel. What happened?”  
Kelris told him the story. “I don't know why they ran away.” He finished. “They could've easily taken me.”  
“Perhaps.” His father had gone pensive, and Kelris felt uncomfortable. “I've heard it said that fey can sometimes have an unnerving aura, that frightens the weak-willed unreasonably. Perhaps you managed to activate that power to drive them away.”  
“This could be dangerous.” His mother said. “If they tell others that one of the elves is actually fey, it could mean trouble between our people. Especially with the fey attacks recently. The humans already think we're lying when we tell them the fey have attacked us as much as the humans.”  
“You should lie low.” His father decided. “You had the right idea, hiding your injury. Let's just stay close to home for awhile, and let this die down. This sort often lie about their own cowardice, let's hope their tale of being driven away by a fey is taken as yet another braggart's lie.”


End file.
